Maxilla

Study entry

Parts

A pair of bones that form the upper jaw and most of the upper facial skeleton. They surround almost the whole piriform aperture, form the medial part of the infra-orbital margins and, with the alveolar processes, support the upper teeth.

Joints

The two join at the intermaxillary suture in the median plane; they have a broad connection with the zygomatics, at the side; with the palatines, in the hard palate.

Source: cap. 8, «Cráneo»

Other structures in this region

• Thyroid cartilage
• Cricoid cartilage
• Arytenoid, corniculate and cuneiform cartilages
• Epiglottis (epiglottic cartilage)
• Membranes and ligaments of the larynx (conus elasticus and quadrangular membrane)
• Frontal bone
• Parietal bone
• Occipital bone